yesterday was our grand finale… a jam-packed day that was supposed to have been even busier.  we started off with hubby’s high school reunion that he’s been working so hard to organize all year.  they rented a house on the lake and basically just made it a “stop by and hang out” kind of day.  we stuck around there until about 14:30 and I got to meet several of his old classmates.  I was actually rather pleasantly surprised by it.  i had always thought my hubby was just one of the few that really made it out of the small town to see the world.  it turns out that more than a few of his classmates have had wonderful worldly adventures too.  i guess that shows my ignorance… or is it prejudice?

after the reunion, we were supposed to rush back to the house for a family reunion.  sadly, there was a death in the family so it turned out to be a funeral home reunion.  since the family get-together was cancelled and there needed to be time for people to visit the funeral parlor, the baby shower got moved up to that time slot and became more of a “drop by and drop off” kind of shower.  hubby’s sis and aunt did a beautiful job and we had a wonderful time seeing various family members.  we spent a few hours there and then went back to the class reunion for a little bit to see who else had shown up and then ended the night by paying our respects at the funeral home.  It was a long, tiring day but we packed a lot of socializing into it!

“a huge thank you to Brenda, Miranda, and aunt diane for throwing a beautiful shower. really, could we be any more blessed?”

From Wedowee Shower, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 6/29/2014 (40 items)

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this morning, we got up and headed south.  i can’t say much good about the trip.  while i am starting to feel more human, i can’t get rid of the horrible coughing fits.  hubby has been throwing cough drops down my throat but with all the coughing and the increased heartburn, they really just make me nauseous and don’t seem to calm the cough at all.  so i was sucking on a retched cough drop on the little windy roads on our way to swing by an uncle’s house and i ended up having my first puke of the pregnancy.  i yelled at hubby to pull the car over (on a tiny windy road with hardly any place to pull off) and just barely made it in time to throw the door open and hang my head out.  not fun, not fun at all.  there went all my breakfast and pretty much anything else I’ve eaten in the last few days.  thank God we had plenty of baby wipes in the car 🙂  we finally made it to uncle’s house and had a nice little visit with him and the cousins before getting back on the road for home.  the GPS ended up taking us the long way home and we ran into severe storms most of the way so it was a long, tense drive with hubby worrying about keeping the car between the lines and making sure i was okay (but he sure didn’t make me suck on any more cough drops!).

i am so glad to be home.  we’ve been so blessed with all of these showers and getting to spend time with family and friends over the last several weeks but I’m just worn out.  i am definitely looking forward to staying home and relaxing and getting ready for our little turkey’s arrival over the next couple months.

the good news is that i only had that one night of slight fever.  the bad news is that i feel like crud with sinus and respiratory congestion and coughing fits that are not making baby happy at all.  i called in sick Monday and slept almost all day in the hopes that it would all just go away.  obviously, that postponed our travels too and made the furniture haul an impossibility for this trip.  that means hubby will have to make another trip on his own sometime later on.  Tuesday morning, after a night of coughing fits so severe I was sure I’d end up giving birth before daylight, I got up at 04:00 and went to the store with my trusty dr’s book in hand to stock up on cough and congestion medications that were on the approved list.  I still had no voice and felt pretty cruddy but i was determined to make the trip to ga so that hubby could meet his boss (who is ca-based so this was the only chance for them to meet in the foreseeable future).  we made the long drive after work (got a call from the dr office on the way letting me know that I am not diabetic – yay!!!) and ended up getting a hotel room around 23:00.  I’m glad we chose to go to a hotel, where I could keep my yuck quarantined, rather than staying with our friends like usual.  I’m sure I kept the entire hotel awake with my coughing.  I probably spent half the night in the bathroom breathing shower steam to get some relief.  poor hubby was frantically worried about me and the baby and kept asking if we needed to go to the hospital.  I had to assure him many times that there was nothing they could do for a bad cold and that I would immediately let him know if I saw any danger signs (bleeding or abnormal pains).  as for my son, he was just not happy at all.  after every coughing fit, he would just go into a kicking fit to get back at me.  poor kiddo.  we took our time getting around in the morning, working from the hotel while the cough calmed down.  happily, the steam must have loosened up whatever was killing my voice and I could actually talk a little. we got to the office mid-morning and found the break room all decked out in monkey baby cuteness.

leave it to beth to go all out with a crazy beautiful, impromptu office shower (more office pix below the fold).  we got to see most of the old gang plus hubby’s new boss, and the kids.  it was such a nice day and, again, I am completely blown away by the generosity of our co-workers and friends.

after work, we went to my brudder’s house for dinner.  my SIL made her yummy shepherd’s pie, just for me 🙂  my niece played very shy but I was actually happy about her keeping her distance this time since I really didn’t want to get the poor little cutie sick. we had a great visit and received some more terrific gifts, which my brudder was very proud of shopping for himself 🙂

we left at a reasonable time so that we could get to the hotel and try to get some sleep but, again, it was not meant to be for me. *sigh* this morning, we got up and went into the restaurant to work and visit some more. halfway through the morning, we looked up to see beth and the girls walk in. she is just all about the surprises! turns out they had to go to the university to have their bunnies fixed so they were near the area and figured it was time to try out my SIL’s wonderful cooking. They hung out for a couple hours while we worked and we enjoyed some great conversation and food with our friends and family all at once. after work, we made our way to ‘bama where I will hopefully get to recover and feel some better before hubby’s high school reunion and our baby shower on Saturday.

the rest of the rant… »

I know the baby’s not hear yet but if you could see how wonderful my husband has been throughout this pregnancy… how worried and protective and supportive he’s been for both me and the turkey, you would see that he is every bit the daddy already. one of his favorite pastimes is laying his head on my belly to talk with the baby and feel him kick him in the ear or chin.

father-son bonding time

after his bonding time today, hubby looked up at me and exclaimed “how can I be so completely enamored with someone I’ve never even met yet?” it brought tears to my eyes. in the beginning, I worried because it seemed like he just wasn’t nearly as excited as I was but i think that was just that it hadn’t sunken in for him yet – he couldn’t feel or see anything like i could. I see him now falling more in love with this little boy every day and it just about brings my heart to bursting. and the worry… he worries about the baby constantly. he says that’s been his biggest surprise – how worried he is that the baby is healthy; that his age hasn’t caused any problems or abnormalities. i didn’t think it was possible to love my husband more than i already did but i was so, so wrong.

in other news, i think he gave me that bug after all, dagnabbit!   we had some houseguests from his home town this weekend.  they were here for their daughter to get married so yesterday we had the bride and her bridesmaids here all day making bouquets and doing hair/makeup and getting dressed.  i started getting hoarse in the mid-morning.  by late afternoon, i had almost no voice at all and was running a low-grade fever.  the book says i only need to worry if my fever gets to 100.5 or higher so i will definitely be watching that and taking acetaminophen to keep it down.  i just hope i get over it quickly enough to not impede our travel plans for the week.  we’re supposed to be leaving tomorrow to start our final southeastern tour.  this week we need to take the guest room furniture to wedowee so that we can start working on putting the nursery together, go over to the old office in ga to meet hubby’s new boss, stop by to see my brother’s family, and then go back to wedowee for hubby’s class reunion, family reunion, and our baby shower.  clearly, i have far too much to do this week to be sick.

13 Jun 2014

Where has the time gone???  I just can’t believe we’re only 10 weeks out.  I’m not ready for this to be over.

aaackkk!!!

today was my three hour glucose test.  I’ve gotten over the immense depression of it and I’ve come to accept that whatever the outcome, we’ll do what we have to do and make it through fine.  the test consisted of me being ordered to eat one full-size candy bar a day for the last three days – I enjoyed my snickers 🙂 – and then fasting after midnight last night.  I ate my last snack around 20:30.  when I arrived at the dr’s office this morning, they immediately drew a vial of fasting blood and had me do my urine sample before chugging the twice-as-much-as-last-time orange sugar syrup (they offered me lime or fruit punch this time but those options didn’t sound any more palatable to me).  they gave me ten minutes but I chose to chug it immediately again.  I then sat around a few minutes until I was called in for my actual dr appointment for my regular tummy check.  everything is looking good.  weight was up a bit because of all the feasting in Orlando last week but nothing to be concerned with.  uterine/fundal measurement was right on track.  baby’s heartrate is holding strong at 140 bpm.  dr is happy with my progress.  all good news.  I then went back to my little chair in the hall to wait for my first hour blood draw.  I was a happy girl when I was ushered to a quiet room with recliners and a tv for the remainder of my waiting.  sitting in those hall chairs would have gotten so uncomfortable for three hours.  there was another woman in the room, on the other side and behind a privacy curtain, who was having a fetal monitor run.  I hoped everything went well for her and her baby but the baby’s heartbeat did provide a relaxing soundtrack and I soon found myself unable to read my nook anymore and drifting off into a sugar-crash sleep.  I was woken for my second hour blood draw and then returned to my comfy recliner for a bit more napping.  finally, it was time for my last blood draw and I was able to go get something to eat.  it was nearly noon and I was starving.

the testing itself… wasn’t too bad after I got my recliner although I was surprised that they actually poked my vein four times rather than just leaving the needle port taped in for the duration.  they said that it would take two of the draws being high for me to be considered diabetic.  I am hopeful that things come back clean but I’m trying not to worry about it anymore.  what good does that do anyhow?

and on the home front, hubby came down with a bug over the weekend and has been running a fever on and off for the last few days.  I’ve been trying to take care of him without getting too close.  I keep threatening his life if he gives this crap to me.  I don’t want to worry about fevers while baking a baby.

after a great week+ of spending quality time with friends and family – including a couple days with my dad where he has looked and gotten around better than I’ve seen him in a long, long time – we are back home to relax for a few days before starting all over again with the in-laws. yesterday was the baby shower that my sissy, niece, and bff so graciously put together. once again, I was humbled by the love and generosity of our friends/family. I got to see a couple of ladies who mean the world to me even though I haven’t seen them in over a decade. there were a couple more that weren’t able to be there but I look forward to seeing them on our next trip down, at which time there will be three of us!!!

love this group of ladies like crazy!

“a huge thank you to my sissy, niece, and jenny for the fabulous shower (not to mention the lovely ladies who attended or were unable to attend)! we’re so blessed to have such great friends and family!!!”

From Orlando Baby Shower, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 6/11/2014 (33 items)

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8 Jun 2014

a couple days late because we just got back from Orlando late last night.  it was a great trip but we are happy to be home (for a few days at least).

when I told my boss I was pregnant, she insisted that we had to come into the office sometime before the baby was born so we agreed that I would do that on my trip down for my nephew’s graduation.  yesterday, we got up super early and put on some office-appropriate clothes (thank goodness for still having so many clothes I can still fit into!) and fought traffic for the commute into the office.  I got to meet several coworkers who I’ve emailed with and even spoken with for a couple years but never seen face to face.  I had expected my boss to give us a nice congratulations card and probably even a little gift card or something but I was blown away by the lovely surprise shower/luncheon that the whole group put together.  people we had never even met before had come together to give our baby cute little gifts and it was just so very nice.  we’re so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. I felt bad for my other remote co-workers who had to cover for me getting almost no work done all day but it was so nice.

“my boss asked me to come into the office while we were in town and surprised us with a lovely shower/luncheon. what a great group of coworkers we have!!!”

From Surprise Office Shower, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 6/11/2014 (16 items)

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tonight, my firstborn nephew graduated high school.  I can’t believe how quickly he’s grown.  this is the young man who’s shining example finally convinced me to open my heart to Jesus.  I am so proud of him and so grateful to have him in my life.  I can’t wait to see what fantastic and exciting things his future holds.

“congratulations to my nephew, jimmy, and the rest of boone hs class of 2014!!! and now… go gators!!!”

From Grad Night 2014, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 6/11/2014 (20 items)

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28 May 2014

We had to take this week’s pic a couple days early due to our upcoming travels to Orlando.  This trip will start a whirlwind month of travels and visits and showers.  It’s going to be exhausting but great!

I want to take the time this Memorial day to express my gratitude for all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of our country. It is truly sobering to think of so many young men and women paying the price for our rights and privileges with their lives, not to mention the price that their family members paid by letting them go.

the weekend found us, once again, celebrating with friends at the annual lake party.  the turkey and I had a great time floating in the water and relaxing on the beach while hubby enjoyed the water toys.  the bastard suns were back again this year so baby boy got to attend his first concert as I carefully jumped around and sang along right up front.  we always have such a great time and this year was no different.  although we did choose to go home instead of staying the night like we usually do.  with all the traveling we’ve got coming up, I just didn’t want to give up any more time with my bed than I had to.  not to mention that the pile of pillows I’ve got to have is a little embarrassing.

From Memorial Weekend Lake Party 2014, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 5/26/2014 (54 items)

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23 May 2014

I’ve been feeling all kinds of great about this pregnancy until I got a phone call yesterday from the dr office saying that I failed the glucose screening and have to go back for the 3 hour test.  anything over 126 requires advanced testing; mine was 148.  looking back over labs from the last few years, it looks like my pre-pregnancy glucose level stays right around 90.  insert major funk of depression here.  I know that this doesn’t necessarily mean that I have gestational diabetes and I know that, even if I do, it’s fairly common and easy to control and blah blah blah… but I just can’t shake this disappointment and melancholy.  I’ve been trying so hard to keep us healthy – I’ve been eating nutritionally, I’ve largely avoided junk food and fried food, I’ve been exercising – and all for what?  just a big smack-in-the-head reminder of how much my body hates me.  just like when I lost forty pounds and my cholesterol shot up instead of getting better.  it feels like I’m already failing my kid as a mother and that’s a lousy feeling.  so it’s going to be 2.5 weeks before I can get in to do the long glucose test.  here’s hoping that I can pull myself out of this funk and learn to deal with whatever comes because there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.

tonight was the VIP premier opening for the new dave & busters.   our friends managed to score us an invite so we went to check it out.  first, the invite said it was a cocktail attire event (which made no sense to me for an adult arcade but whatever) and we four ended up being entirely overdressed amongst all the jeans and flip flops.  I’d be upset about it if it weren’t for the fact that I so rarely have the chance to get all gussied up so it’s nice to look pretty once in a while.  when we walked in, they gave us each a $10 game card and two drink vouchers.  good thing I brought my ID since hubby had to use all four of our vouchers!  we did a loop around the joint to see what there was to see and try to find our friends.  they had a couple free buffets set up with hors d’oeuvres and desserts but when we met up with our friends, they wanted to sit and eat a meal in the restaurant.  we ordered a couple apps for the table and an entrée for each of us and found out after eating that there was no charge for any of it.  bonus!  added bonus:  that was just about the best mac-n-cheese I’ve ever eaten!  super cheesy pasta with seasoned grilled chicken and large pieces of bacon.  mmmmm.  the potato poppers app was also good… little nuggets of mashed taters, kinda like a tater tot except not at all like a tater tot.  after we were all fat and happy, we made our way around the game floor.  hubby and I did a few of the racing games that we so enjoy (I totally kicked his rear at Daytona!).  chef and trainwreck had a blast with the carnival style games that give you tickets.  a good time was had by all, especially for the price of free.  it’ll be a fun addition to the local entertainment offerings but I was a little disappointed.  turns out, I had gotten d&b confused with another place we used to go in Atlanta.  I went in there expecting it to be a huge place with a bowling alley and billiard hall in addition to the giant arcade and restaurant and I was confused on how they were going to pull it off because everyone kept saying that it was the largest d&b built but it just didn’t look big enough for all that from the outside.  turns out that the place that our big boss used to take us to in atl was jillians, not d&b, so I went into this expecting a lot more than was fair.  I guess we never actually went to the d&b up there; I have no clue why I had it stuck in my head that we did (pregnancy brain!).  so this place is what it’s supposed to be – an oversized game room with food and drinks.  I’m sure we’ll go back plenty with friends (heck, we still have $ on our cards) but it would have been nice to have the whole shebang that jillians was.

or at least a sickly sweet orange syrup.  yep, today was the glucose screening.  it actually wasn’t as bad as I expected.  I avoided carbs all day – eggs for breakfast, cheese for midmorning snack, breakfast ham for lunch.  they give you five minutes to choke down the glucola (ha!) but I just went ahead and chugged it.  it’s strongly reminiscent of the mystery orange drink that fast food restaurants used to serve for birthday parties when I was a kid.  really, I’ve had worse.  they were efficient enough to get me in to see the dr while waiting for the hour to pass for blood draw.  today’s heart rate was 140 bpm, 26cm uterine measurement, and i was up 3.5 lbs from last month.  dr r seemed pleased with everything and told hubby to quit hassling me about my weight (honestly, who would’ve thought he’d ever be worrying about me being too thin?!).  now that we’re in the third tri, we start doing two-week appointments until the last month when it goes weekly so lots more trips to town now.  we ran several errands after the appointment and i was completely exhausted by the time we got home… hard to say whether that was the sugar crash or just the zero sleep last night. 

so, the last trimester… 94 days to due date… i can’t wrap my head around it being that close now.  where has the time gone?  i feel like I’m going to be very sad for the pregnancy to end… of course, I’m super excited to meet our son but this has just been such an incredible and fascinating experience.  there are plenty of aggravations but, overall, it’s just an awesome time.  when i thought i would never be able to conceive, we talked about adopting.  while i still would not be opposed to adopting one day, knowing what i know now, it would have been a huge regret to not be able to have this experience. for all of the minor pains and annoyances so far, I have loved every minute of this pregnancy and wouldn’t trade this time for anything in the world.

in other news, since we have been in purge/organize/cleanup mode around here, we’ve both had items that take up a lot of space and won’t be used any time soon listed for sale on line.  tonight, i sold my scuba gear.  woot!  i even managed to get just $50 less than what i paid for it so double-woot considering i surely got more use out of it than that (and there were a few things i didn’t include from the kit i bought).  i love diving but, realistically, it’s going to be a few years before i even get the chance to go again so there’s no point in having the equipment sitting around, unserviced, and taking up space.  the last few dives we did were on cruises or at resorts and we just used their equipment anyhow.  hubby has had a few nibbles on his listing for bike #3 but nothing concrete yet.  I’m sure it’ll go soon enough.  bedroom furniture goes next month and then we’ll have a few other things to get rid of too – huge, old, tube-style tv; my first stereo system that i hate to part with because it’s the nicest gift i ever got from my brudder but it takes up a lot of room and we don’t use it; other miscellany – that we’ll probably just take to goodwill.